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Frank Ammirante's 5 fantasy football bold predictions for the 2025 NFL season, including predictions for Trevor Lawrence, George Pickens, and more.
It's time to bring you my favorite column of the year: bold predictions. These are ceiling outcomes of some of my favorite picks in 2025 fantasy football drafts. I'm above consensus on each of the players featured in this article.
On this page, you'll find one quarterback, three wide receivers, and one tight end.
Read on to find out why I'm going bold on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Emeka Egbuka, Tucker Kraft, George Pickens, and Trevor Lawrence.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba Puts up 1,500+ Receiving Yards
Smith-Njigba is a former first-round pick who is entering his third season on an upward trajectory, finishing Year 2 with 100 catches for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns.
The former Ohio State standout came on strong down the stretch, putting up a 27.5% target share and 2.24 yards per route run while averaging 15.0 fantasy points per game (half-PPR) from Weeks 9-18.
JSN is my favorite pick in all of fantasy football this year.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the best clicks on the board.
Elite producer in college
High draft capital
Steady improvement yrs 1 & 2Entering Year 3 healthy & locked in as the top target.
Embrace ambiguous environment - if the O is actually good? Watch out.
— Andrew (GPNGC) (@draft32teams) August 4, 2025
It's a terrific team context in Seattle, where the Seahawks replaced DK Metcalf with a declining Cooper Kupp. There's not much target competition here, including fifth-round rookie Tory Horton, along with tight ends A.J. Barner and Elijah Arroyo. Expect JSN to dominate targets this season.
Then you have to consider that his average depth of target is going to increase. With Metcalf gone, JSN is now the top perimeter threat for the Seahawks. New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak plans to move JSN all over the field, so he'll still get some slot usage.
We saw what JSN can do in a spike week vs the Rams last year, which included seven catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. That feels like a preview of what's to come this season.
Don't worry about the change at quarterback from Geno Smith to Sam Darnold. We saw what Darnold did to help Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison last season. Not to mention that it's a perfect scheme fit with Kubiak, who coached Darnold when he was a backup with the 49ers in 2023.
Darnold played his best football with Kevin O'Connell, who comes from the Shanahan coaching tree, just like Kubiak. With that in mind, we shouldn't be too concerned with Darnold here.
So, here we have a Year 3 wideout who was a touted prospect and is now an ascending player, set to become the focal point of the passing game, making 1,500+ yards firmly within reach.
Emeka Egbuka Catches 100+ Passes
Egbuka is a first-round rookie who has a fantasy-friendly skillset as a volume target earner that can win in the slot and on the perimeter. The former Buckeyes' star has been making noise all camp, earning the praise of quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Baker Mayfield on rookie WR Emeka Egbuka:
"He stays on the ground, runs through the catch, gets yards after the catch, and reminds me of Amon-Ra St. Brown. He just does everything the right way."
(via https://t.co/DWgPtHxA2F) pic.twitter.com/rKqdp9Gkvt
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) August 21, 2025
It's the perfect situation for Egbuka to immediately play a prominent role in a pass-heavy Bucs' offense. Chris Godwin is still recovering from a dislocated ankle and won't be ready for the start of the season. Even when he does return, there's a chance that he won't be the same player. Mike Evans is entering his age-32 season, so there's always risk of the age cliff. Jalen McMillan is expected to miss several games with a neck injury.
That means there's a path for Egbuka to immediately become the No. 2 target in this offense, with an outside chance of becoming the top option. Given the Bucs' deficiencies on defense and pass-heavy nature on offense, this team could be involved in several shootouts.
Don't be shocked if Egbuka eclipses the century mark in receptions this season.
Tucker Kraft Eclipses 1,000 Receiving Yards
Kraft is a big-play tight end who put up 707 yards on only 50 catches last season, averaging an impressive 14.1 yards per reception. The third-year tight end put up 9.1 yards after catch per reception last year, which ranked 1st among tight ends with at least 40 catches. The next closest was George Kittle at 6.7, so Kraft was far and away the best in this category.
Nothing is stopping Tucker Kraft from being a top 5 TE in the 2025 NFL season.. 📈👀
pic.twitter.com/hAHsvkgmkA— PackerMuse (@PackerMuse) August 20, 2025
There's a path for Kraft to emerge as the No. 2 or even top target in the Packers offense. Rookie Matthew Golden also adds a lot of speed on the perimeter, which can open up room for Kraft to make big plays underneath.
We also have to mention that Jordan Love is fully healthy after playing through a myriad of injuries last season. The Packers went extremely run-heavy to put less pressure on Love, but now they can go back to a more balanced offense like we saw in 2023, when Love threw for over 4,000 yards.
Given Kraft's ability to generate big plays, don't be surprised to see him eclipse 1,000 yards if he gets more volume. This looks like the next Kittle.
George Pickens Scores 12+ Touchdowns
Pickens is one of the most obvious breakouts in fantasy football this season. The former Steeler is basically Tee Higgins, but 1-2 rounds cheaper.
Side-by-side comparison:
George Pickens Years 2 + 3
Tee Higgins Years 2 + 3 pic.twitter.com/mGgSqqi5pR— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) August 18, 2025
This is a contested-catch specialist who can make big plays downfield. Expect Pickens to soar past his previous career-high in touchdowns, which is only five.
The reason for that is simple: a significant improvement in the team context. Pickens goes from a vanilla, run-heavy offense in Pittsburgh to one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the NFL in Dallas. The 24-year-old wideout also gets a huge boost at quarterback play, going from Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields, and Russell Wilson to Dak Prescott.
Not to mention that playing alongside a stud wideout like CeeDee Lamb should open up opportunities for Pickens to get loose downfield. The Cowboys even have one of the worst running back rooms in the NFL, so expect them to be pass-heavy in the red zone. That means that Pickens should see several opportunities to score touchdowns. I'm boldly calling 12+ scores for the former Steeler.
Trevor Lawrence Rushes for 500+ Yards
Trevor Lawrence is poised for a career year with a stud playcaller, Liam Coen, running the show. Add in an alpha WR1 in Brian Thomas Jr. and a potential stud in Travis Hunter. There's a lot to like here in Jacksonville.
But one under-the-radar path for Lawrence to yield a major profit in fantasy football is in rushing yards.
Baker Mayfield came into the 2024 season with a career-high of 10.3 rushing yards per game.
One year with Liam Coen:
22.2 rushing yards per gameTrevor Lawrence current career-high:
21.2 rushing yards per gameI'd bet on the over in Year 1 with Coen.
— Frank Ammirante (@FAmmiranteTFJ) August 4, 2025
Baker Mayfield more than doubled his previous career-high in rushing yards per game last season. I'm betting that this isn't a coincidence, as Coen's offenses have more dropbacks and more opportunities for the quarterback to take off and run.
We also have to acknowledge that Lawrence can make big plays on the ground. The former first overall pick has six 40+ rushing yard games in his career, topping out at 59.
To get to 500+ rushing yards, Lawrence just needs to bump his career average of 21.2 to about 29.5 per game, which is firmly within the range of outcomes with Coen calling plays.
